Communication booth



Dlto 20, H. F WE|SS COMMUNICATION BOOTH Filed July 51, 195s 2 Sheets-Sheet l lllllllllllllllllllllll IIIIIII1|I|1I|||I H. F. WEISS Dec, 2o, 1938.

GOMMUNICAT ION BOOTH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 31, 1936 i Patented Dec. 20, 1938 2,141,117 COMLIUNIC'ATION BOOTH Howard F. Weiss, Madison, Wis., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Burgess Battery Cornpany, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Wisconsin Application July 31, 1936, Serial No. 93,670

17 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved communication booth and speoically to a communication booth for use in noisy locations and in which a telephone may be housed.

It is an object of this invention to provide a communication booth consisting merely of vertical side and rear walls and a top, but so treated and designed acoustically,V that a conversation may be carriedoncomfortably in its interior even though said booth is surrounded by extraneous noises of high intensity, and despite the fact that said booth is open at the front and around the bottom.

Another object of. the invention is to provide a communication booth in which the side, rear and top walls are covered on the inside with soundabsorbing material, and finwwhicl'i thedepth of the booth from front to rear is in excess of its width, said booth being of such proportions, as compared to the size of an average adult within the same, that the spoken words of said adult, near the rear of the booth, are not dis# tinguishable outside of said booth.

A further object is to provide a booth of these acoustical characteristics with a telephone supported on the rear wall thereof, whereby a telephone VVconversation may be carried on within said booth V'without being distinctly audible through the open front thereof. and whereby outside noises do not materially interere'with the telephone conversation within said booth.

Another object is to provide a booth in which the exterior walls have an inneriining of antivibration materialover which the sound-absorb-` ing material is positiohedr.-r-s\ Another object is to provid`e`"-a\booth of this character which has `an eilectivenessersgcommunication purposes substantially equal toor greater than that of a standard,'doublewalled, closed wood and glasstelephone booth, but with superior ventilation.. Y

An additional object is to provide an open front, acoustically treated telephone booth of such sound-deadening capacity, that a number of said booths may be arranged side by side in a row, and telephone communications carried on in all of them simultaneously without interference or lack of privacy.

In the drawings: j

Fig. 1 isa perspective view of a rectangular vbooth embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale through a side wall and part of. the roof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of the lower part oi one of the walls and one of the legs;

a certain sense outside of the same.

(o1. 18a-z) Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an oval form of booth; Fig. 5 is a transverse, vertical section thereof; Fig. 6 lis an enlarged section on the line (if-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 'lis an enlarged section on the line 'l-l of Fig. 5. The communication booth shown in Fig. 1 comprises a structure which has'a rear wall le, side Walls Il, l2, and a top or ceiling i3, all made preferably of sheet ,metaL the front being entirely open, or substantially so. The booth is preferably open at the bottom also, as showmthe side and rear walls being mounted on legs I4, I5, I6 and I1. The top is of sufficient height above the floor to permit a person to stand inside of mthebootira convenient inside vertical dimension being six and one-half feet. YTheY four Walls, i. e.. the side, topand rear walls are provided on the inner sides with a sound-absorbing construction, 2Q

suitable for lining a communicatiimV ev-.Jrfofff this type. Animal hair, cotton, asbestos, min- 30 eral wool and the like may be used as the absorbent materal. A thick blanket of the material is used to secure a high degree of absorption'throughout -arlarge partofthessound spe'c-KVV Y trum, a thickness of about three inches giving excellent results.

The booth may be used as atelephone booth or itanay provide a quiet` spot in which two people, sucasioreman and a workman, may speak to each other in comfort regardless of the disturbances surrounding them. V'Ihe disturbing noises are removed-before reaching the occupant oroccupants of the booth.v

When used as a telephone booth it may be provided with a shelf 20, made of perforated metal interiorly lined with a sound absorber and mounted on /a rear wall,.as shown in Fig. 1, to supportl a telephone 2|. The bell-box 22'may be mounted on an apron 23 extending downwardly from the rear wall. lSaid bell-box' is, therefore, not mounted within the booth but in This prevents the sound of the bell being absorbed and makes it possible to hear the ringing oi the bell at a distance from said booth. A lamp 24 may be mounted on the ceiling.

-A booth of this construction is especially useful in locations where conversations must be carried on in the presence of noises sufficient in intensity to interfere with them, as for example public and departmental workrooms or mills, power-houses, sub-stations, engine rooms, subway or elevated stations, large garages, cab stands, railroad stations, bowling alleys, freight houses, armories, public halls, radio stations, power-press rooms, telegraph bureaus and the like.

The absence of doors and the adequate ventilation also make the use of such a booth convenient and comfortable. The ventilation of a conned space, such as a telephone booth, is a1- ways a serious problem. During conversations over long intervals of time, the air needs frequent changing. In warm weather or in mills operating at high room temperatures the stufhness of a tightly closed booth is intolerable. Telephone users have often fainted due to the poor ventilation of closed booths. The open front usually allows ample light to enter. Furthermore the open bottom practically eliminates the unsanitary conditions which sometimes attend closed booths.

It has heretofore been considered necessary to prevent the noise from entering the booth and for this reason the practice has been to have the enclosure completely insulated acoustically. The most common example of this is the double walled telephone booth having anrair spacelhetweengthehwalls. rl'he present construction does not shut out the sound, but rather absorbs it by placing adjacent the path which the sound must travel to reach the users ears, sound-absorbing material in suiiicient amount and correctly arranged to substantially silence the disturbing noises. A further advantage is that the conversation of the telephone user in the booth does not come back inte the room and therefore affords privacy without the above mentioned discomforts of a closed seth,

t is not sufficient merely to line the interior of any booth with athick layer of sound-absorbing# construction, since it is necessagLto/proltion the booth properly'toa'ttathe desired result. In a booth of the height mentioned and which is suiciently large to allow a person to use conveniently a-telephone in proximity to the rear wall, the side walls should extend forwardly a substantial distance from said rear wall and from -f said person. For example, in a specific instance,

the legs are twenty inches high, the inside exposed perforated facing of the top wall is seventyeight inches from the floor, the inside perforated surfaces of the side walls are spaced twenty-six inches apart and extend from the inner surface of the rear wall. The vertical front corners of said side walls may be rounded if desired. It will thus be seen that the side walls extend from front to rear a substantially greater than that which they are spaced apart. The structure is so arranged and the dimensions are such that a large part of the extraneous noises which reach the front opening are absorbed by the Walls before reaching a person who is standing adjacent the rear wall.

Likewise a large part of the sounds generated in the rear portion of the interior of the booth are absorbed before reaching the front opening of the booth. In view of these properties of preventing disturbing sounds from reaching the pertelephonesY Y in noisy ,i

forwardly forty inches l distance son using the telephone and in View of the fact that those outside the booth cannot overhear the telephone conversation within, a. number of these booths may be arranged in a row, side by side, and a telephone conversation carried on in each of them without the occupant in one booth being disturbed by conversations being carried on in the adjacent booths.

Where fiat steel plates or sheets are used to form the outside walls of the booth, as in the present case, these flat areas may vibrate or drum, under certain conditions of air vibrations, and thereby offset in part, the acoustical eiliciency of the booth. This vibration or drumming may be prevented by lining the inner surfaces of the outside sheets with vibration damping material such as is described and claimed in Leadbetter copending application Serial No. 53,276, filed December 6, 1935, and since issued February 2, 1937, as Patent No. 2,069,413.

One form of this treatment is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, and consists of corrugated paper 25 of the usual strawboard variety, attached securely throughout substantially all of its contacting surface (the tops of the ribs) to the sheet or panel to be damped. vSee for example panel H in Fig. 2. A thin sheet of paper 25 is attached in a similar manner to the opposite side of the ribs or corrugations. Said ribs or corrugations act as rigid spacing means between the metal panel Il and the sheet 26. Said sheet is substantially incapable of stretching, and when the metal panel, during its vibration, bends so that -it-is/convex with respect to said sheet, the latter is subjected to a tensile stress, which it resists with great force. Said sheet therefore, exerts a powerful snubbing action against such bending of the metal panel. Bending in the opposite direction is not resisted appreciably, because said sheet is then under lengthwise compression and readily undergoes a slight wrinkling. @snubbing action which is eife/ctiyefineone'direc'tion only in the manner Vdescribed has been found to be very effective for damping panel vibration. Although but one form of this vibration dampening con structi/onahas been described, a numberof diifer- /ent'forms of construction embodying the above principles may be used. For example, small wooden slats in parallel, spaced-apart arrangement may be substituted for the corrugated sheet, as in the patent application above referred to. Sheet 2B is attached to one side of these slats, which in turn are attached to the panel i on the opposite side.

Certainrstruotural details are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The outer steel panel il, shown in Fig. 2, is bent over at right angles at the top thereof, as shown at 2l and has its margin interlocked at 28 with the perforated metalei. The horizontal sheet metal I3 comprising the top, is curved downwardly at the edges and interlocked at 29 with the horizontal perforated sheet of metal I9. The band 3D, formed by bending the metal at this point, is secured to the sheetinetal Wall Il and the other vertical Walls of the booth by screws 3i. A horizontal V shaped stiifening member 32 is secured to the vertical Walls, as shown in Fig. 2, where it is secured to the Wall H as by spot welding. The perforated metal I9, constituting the in ner facing of the Wall, is formed in panels or tile, the margins of which are bent at right angles, as shown at 33, the adjacent parallel margins being joined by suitable means such as spot Welding to tie the panels together. Said inner facing may be stifened and reenforced, and the strength of the joint increased, by placing metal strips 34 on opposite sides of the parallel margins, prior to spot welding and uniting said strips and margins by suitable means such as spot welding. The above construction permits the booth to be shipped in knock down form and readily assembled by the purchaser. It will be seen from the drawings that the back, sides and top are made in separate units which are assembled by screwing these together by means of screws 3|, 31, etc.

The perforated facing material instead of being sheet metal, may be made of any suitable material, including sheets of composition mate-i rial of which plywood, Bakelite, and Presswood are examples.

The top wall I3 or roof may be spaced al quarter or a half inch above the top edges ofI rear wall I0 and side walls II and I2 to'provide for increased ventilation. This may be accomplished by suitable blocks or spacers. Such spacing will allow the warm air 'atV thetop 'of the booth to pass freely therefrom, but any sounds passing outwardly or inwardly through such clearance spaces or ducts, will be absorbed by the sound-absorbing material I8 covered by the perforated membrane I9 and forming the walls ofy said ducts.

The details of the leg structure are shown in Fig. 3. The leg I6, for example, is secured to an inverted channel member 35 constituting the lower frame of the cabinet. The perforated metal panel I9 shown in this figure has its lower margin 36 bent at right angles to rest on the frame 35 and its outer margin is bent downwardly to form a fiange to which the outer sheet metal wall I2 is secured at 3'I. The legs mays be yreplaced by columns or posts turned inwardly at any desired angle.

' In the form of' booth shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the rectangular construction of Fig. 1 has been so modified that the booth is of a rounded, elliptical, or horseshoe form. In this type, the rounded surfaces do not have the same tendency to vibrate as the fiatexterior surfaces. It is not necessary, therefore, to use the vibration dampening structure shown in Fig. 1. The booth 40 has preferably three legs 4I, 42 and 43 instead of four, to aid in keeping it from rocking on uneven floors. Thus it is open around the bottom, as in the first booth described. Also it has an open front ordoorway. The sides are flattened somewhat, thereby making the front to rear dimension'somewhat greater than the width. In a specific instance, the front to rear dimension is twenty-seven inches when measured from the interior edge of the opening 44, and the width is twenty-five inches. In a booth of this shape and limited size, the doorway may be narrow,

somewhat as shown, the width of the opening being'sixteen inches. However, in a larger booth in which the front to rear dimension is increased. as in Fig. 1, the doorway may be made substantially coextensive with the distance between the side walls by changing the shape of the booth somewhat.

The sound-absorbing equipment of this oval booth of Figs. 4 and 5, is made preferably of the same perforated metal previously described, backed with about three inches of fibrous soundabsorbing material. The boothmay have a shelf 45, at the rear, for a telephone as in the case of the rst booth;

It is obvious that the booth of my invention may be made of various shapes and designs and that reference to side and Krear walls does not necessarily infer the use of fiat surfaces as in Fig. 1, but includes also rounded or curved surfaces although-the latter are not as clearly defined. In other respects also the invention is not limited to the specific details herein described of typical'and commercial structures. Furthermore, while the elimination of the door is one of the outstanding practical advantages of the invention, certain of the acoustical advantages attained are not lost by the use of a door in special cases, as for example where an existing compartment, recess or alcove is already equipped with a door of full length, half length or having an opening or grill therein, before said compartment is remodeled as an acoustically treated communication booth, or where to insure greater privacy or partial concealment of the occupant or occupants of the booth, a door is desirable, either of conventional length or shortlli)` ened to provide an opening at the bottom, or of tom structure, and a top therefor, said side walls being spaced apart a sufficient distance and4 said top being at such a height that an adult person may stand in said booth and use a telephone" therein, the inner surfaces of said rear and side walls and top, throughout substantially their entire area, being of a sound-absorbing construction adapted to absorb sound incident upon said inner surfaces, said side walls extending a substantial distance rearwardly of suchperson, standing in proximity to said rear wall, said structure being of such dimensions and being so constructed and arranged that a large proportion of the extraneous noises reaching the front of said structure is absorbed by said sound-absorbing walls before reaching said person.

2; The communication booth of claim 1, with an unobstructed front opening, and in which the length of the side walls from front to rear is substantially. greater than the width of the front opening.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said sound- `absorbing construction comprises a layer of fibrous material of a minimum thickness of about three inches.

4. The structure ofv claim 1 in which the sound--v absorber is faced with perforated sheet metal, the

perforations thereof being so spaced apartthat the absorption of the absorber is not affected appreciably by the perforated sheet metal at any frequency in the sound spectrum.

5. The structure of claim 1 in which the exterior walls are of sheet metal having alining of anti-vibration material.

6. A communication booth consisting of rear and side Walls and a top, said booth being permanently open at the front from substantially the top to the bottom thereof so that the spacewithin said booth is in. constant direct communi cation with the space surrounding said booth, the rear Aand side walls comprising sheet metal with spacing. members secured to the inner face thereof, a exible tension member secured to the inner sides of said spacing members, an inner facing of perforated sheet metal spaced from said side walls and sound-absorbing material between said perforated sheet metal and said tension member.

'7. A communication booth consisting of rear and side walls and a top, said both being permanently open at the front from substantially the top to the bottom thereof so that the space within said booth is in constant direct communication with the space surrounding said booth, the rear and side walls comprising outer sheet metal panels extending inwardly substantially at right angles at the top and bottom, perforated sheet metal panels interlocked with said inwardly extending portions and spaced from said outer metal panels, corrugated board secured to the inner side of said outer panels, a sheet of flexible material'secured to the other side of said corrugated board and sound-absorbing material between said exible material and said perforated panels.V

8. A communication booth as in the preceding claim in which the top consists of an outer sheet vof metal, a perforated metal facing and soundabsorbing material between the two.

9. The structure of claim 1 which has an effectiveness for communication purposes substantially equal to or greater than a standard doublewalled closed wood and glass telephone booth.

10. The structure of claim 1 in which said inner surfaces comprise a hard perforated sheet material covering a porous, sound absorbing material, the perforations of said sheet material being so spaced apart that the absorption is not' affected appreciably by the perforated sheet material at any frequency in the sound spectrum.

11. The structure of claim 1 in which thebooth is of a horse-shoe shape.

12. A communication booth having one or more permanent openings therein so that the space within said booth is in constant direct communication with the space surrounding said booth and consisting of rear and side walls and a top, said walls and top including means for supporting said top at such a height above a floor, and for spacing said side walls apart such a distance, that an adult person may use a telephone at a telephone position in said booth, said telephone position being remote from said one or more openings, a large portion of the inner surfaces of said booth being of sound absorbing construction adapted to absorb sound incident thereon, the walls and top of said booth and said sound absorbing construction being of such dimensions and being so constructed and arranged with respect to the location of said telephone position and the location of said one or more openings that a large proportion of the extraneous noises reaching an opening of said booth is absorbed by said sound absorbing walls before reaching the ears of the person at said telephone position.

13. A communication booth comprising rear and side walls mounted substantially above the fioor level on spaced supports to provide an openbottom structure, and a top therefor, said side walls being spaced apart a sufficient distance and said top being at such a height that an adult person may stand in said booth in proximity to said rear wall and use a telephone in said booth, a large portion of the inner surfaces of said booth being of a sound absorbing constructionwhich is adapted to absorb sound incident upon the inner surfaces of said Walls, said side walls and the sound absorbing construction thereof extending a substantial distance rearwardly of such person standing in proximity to said rear wall, said booth being of such dimensions and the sound absorbing construction thereof being so arranged that a large proportion of the extraneous noises entering said booth is absorbed by said sound absorbing walls before reaching the ears of said person standing in proximity to said rear wall.

14. The structure of claim 13 in which the exterior walls include panels of vibration-resisting construction.

15. A communication booth having wallsnproviding a zone of communication within said booth, a lining of sound-absorbing material on substantially all of the interior surfaces of said walls adapted to absorb sound waves within said booth, said booth having a permanent substantially open portion therein so that the space within said booth is in constant direct communication with the space surrounding said booth, said lining absorbing a substantial portion of the sound waves entering said booth from said surrounding space before said waves reach said zone of communication.

16. A communication booth comprising rear and side walls, a top therefor and a permanent substantially open front so that the space within said booth is in constant direct 'communication with the space surroundingsaid booth, said side walls being spaced apart suchV a distance and said top being at such a height that an adult personV may stand in said booth out of contact therewith in proximity to said rear wall, and use a telephone, the inner surfaces of said rear and side walls and top, throughout substantially their entire area, being of a sound-absorbing construction adapted to absorb sound incident upon said inner surfaces, said side walls extending forwardly a substantial distance and the structure being so constructed and arranged that a large proportion of the extraneous noises reaching the open front of said structure 1s absorbed by said sound-absorbing walls before reaching said person.

17. A telephone booth comprising side, rear and top walls, with means for supporting'a telephone on said rear wall, so that the user normally faces rearwardly when using said telephone, and in a position somewhat remote from the front of the booth which is open, the side walls of said booth terminating above the floor tovprovide open com- HOWARD F. WEISS. 

